Lyrics for the 3rd & 4th grade musical “Larger Than Life: Tall Tales of the American Frontier”
Practice videos coming to www.youtube.com/user/chrisjenningsmusic -> playlists -> Larger Than Life
JOHN HENRY
Traditional as sung by Woody Guthrie
John Henry when he was a baby
Settin' on his mammy's knee
Picked up a hammer in his little right hand
Said "Hammer be the death of me me me,
Hammer be the death of me!"
Some say he's born in Texas
Some say he's born up in Maine
I just say he was a Louisiana man
Leader of a steel-driving chain gang
Leader on a steel-driving gang
"Well", the captain said to John Henry
"I'm gonna bring my steam drill around
I’m gonna bring my steam drill out on the job
I’m gonna whup that steel on down down down
Whup that steel on down!"
John Henry said to the captain
"You can bring your steam drill around
You can bring your steam drill out on the job
I'll beat your steam drill down down down,
Beat your steam drill down!"
John Henry said to his Shaker
"Shaker you had better pray
If you miss your six feet of steel
Tomorrow’ll be your buryin' day day day
Tomorrow'll be your buryin' day!"
Now the Shaker said to John Henry
"Well, a man ain't nothing but a man
But before I'd let that steam drill beat me down
I'd die with an hammer in my hand hand hand
I'd die with an hammer in my hand!"
They took John Henry to the graveyard
Laid him down in the sand
Every locomotive comin' a-rolling by by by
Hollered "There lies a steel-drivin' man man man
There lies a steel-drivin' man!"
BACKWOODS SUPERMAN
A song for Davy Crocket by Mr. Jennings
Sittin’ on a comet, surfing through the sky,
Was good old Davy Crocket out going for a ride.
He landed on a mountaintop
And looked out upon Tennessee,
Gazed upon the wild frontier,
And said, “That’s the place for me!”
Davy, Davy, you had thunder in your hands!
You were so amazing, a backwoods superman.
Stronger than an ox
And faster than a falcon on the wing,
Out in the wild frontier, Davy Crocket was the king.
Once Davy went out walking,
He came across a panther in the rain
That was bigger than an elephant
And faster than a train.
Oh, that panther it was prowling
Looking for something to eat
Oh, that panther it was hungry
For some Davy Crocket meat.
Refrain
Davy grabbed that panther,
And he hummed a little tune,
While he tossed that panther to and fro
All through the afternoon,
The Panther cried for mercy, as the sun began to set,
Davy said, “I’m gonna take you home.
And you will be my pet.”
Refrain
One morning the sun couldn’t rise up,
A block of ice was in its way,
Davy knew he’d have to set it free,
Or human life would end that day.
So he flung lightning from his fingertips
Towards the sun and the ice that blocked it
Then he headed on home for breakfast,
A piece of sunrise in his pocket.
Refrain
PECOS BILL
As sung by Roy Rogers
Composed by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And the western superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
Cause he never had no fear of man or beast
Yippee-ai-ay, yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo
Once there was a drought that spread all over Texas
So to sunny Californy he did go
And though the gag is kinda corny
He brought rain from Californy
That's the way we got the Gulf of Mexico
Refrain
Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillins and
That's the reason why there's gold in them there hills
Refrain
Pecos lost his way while travelin' on the desert
It was ninety miles across the burnin' sand
He knew he'd never reach the border
If he didn't get some water
So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande
While reclining on a cloud high over Texas
With his gaze he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin'
Lyrics for the 3rd & 4th grade musical “Larger Than Life: Tall Tales of the American Frontier”
Practice videos coming to www.youtube.com/user/chrisjenningsmusic -> playlists -> Larger Than Life
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star Texas state
Refrain
JOHNNY APPLESEED
By Christopher Hawley
Johnny Appleseed went out for a roam
Walked the land as far as he could
Didn’t look back home.
In springtime, he walked the land
And planted all the seeds,
In fall, there were apples on the trees
To feed all those in need.
Johnny Appleseed treading through the land
True in thought, word and deed,
Planting seeds with his hand.
Johnny Appleseed meets George Washington.
Well, George was chopping down that cherry tree,
Johnny asked a question.
“Can I trade you a shovel for that axe?”
Is what Johnny said. He gave an apple seed and said,
“Won’t you plant this instead?”
Refrain
George Washington, what a divine will,
He chopped down that cherry tree
Got his face on a dollar bill,
Johnny Appleseed, apples on his mind,
Even though he’s long gone, he left apple trees behind.
Refrain
Johnny Appleseed treading through the land
True in thought, word and deed,
Planting seeds with his hand.
A TALL DRINK OF WATER
A song for Alfred Bulltop Stormalong by Mr. Jennings
The tidal wave that you were borne on,
It came down on the shore with a crash.
Everyone came out to see you,
Yeah, you made quite a splash.
A cannonball from a diving board
By the biggest man in town
Could not compare to the impact you made
That day on the beach you were found.
‘Cause you were so much larger than life,
The tallest drink of water they ever knew,
Towering above all of the tourists
Who were so thirsty for you.
You’ve grown up and taller still
And all the people keep coming around.
You are the main attraction
From Chatham up to Provincetown.
But you don’t like it ‘cause it makes you feel
That you’re different as different can be.
So you slip out of sight into the deep water’s night
To go swimming with the whales out at sea.
‘Cause you are so much larger than life,
The tallest drink of water they ever knew,
Towering above all of the tourists
Who are so thirsty for you.
Oh, Stormalong! Oh, Stormalong, you feel
Like an alien from outer space,
You feel like a wrong note in the song
You feel like everywhere, you’re out of place,
But with me you’re right where you belong.
Oh, Stormalong, your
Destination might be miles away,
Unfamiliar, and quite unknown,
Just remember as you journey on
With me you are always at home.
‘Though you are so much larger than life,
The tallest drink of water they ever knew
Towering above all of the tourists who
Will never know the real you.
Refrain
AS TALL A TALE AS YOU
A song for Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind by Mr. Jennings
I woke up in the morning and the sky was cold and grey,
I took a deep breath and I blew all the clouds away.
The sun came out and I went walking into the forest wild,
Where lurking bears and other beasts
Lay waiting to be riled up.
There were two giant rattlesnakes who suddenly appeared,
Hissing at my feet and trying to bite me: it was clear
The situation was dire; it demanded that I cope!
So I grabbed those rattlers by their tales
And used them to jump rope.
I can blow all the clouds away,
And I can jump rope with a rattlesnake,
And yes, I may exaggerate; it’s true.
I can tell as tall a tale as you!
Once I was churning some butter for my bread,
When in walks this old grizzly bear looking to be fed,
I gave him dumplings and, to wash it down,
Gave him a spot of tea,
He ate and drank but wanted more, he wanted to eat me!
I saw those two yellow eyes and pointed teeth come nearer,
He backed me in the corner and came to bite me: it was clear
The situation was dire, a deadly circumstance!
So I grabbed that grizzly, spun him round,
And taught him how to dance.
I can blow all the clouds away,
And I can jump rope with a rattlesnake,
And I can teach a grizzly bear to dance,
And I can overcome any circumstance,
And yes, I may exaggerate; it’s true.
I can tell as tall a tale as, I can tell as tall a tale as,
I can tell as a tall a tale as you!